Heavy snow丨Cold clouds cover the sky, white snow falls on the ground

"At first the sound of tiles was heard sparsely, and in a moment the courtyard was filled with hundreds of bushels of pearls."

——Excerpt from "Snow" by Xu Yuanjie (Song Dynasty)

The 2021 Chinese Astronomical Calendar shows

December 7, 5:57 am, Beijing time

Welcome the "Big Snow" solar term

Midwinter

The curtain opens

The "Collection of Explanations of the 72 Lunar Calendars" says

"November is the month of the great festival, and the snow is heavy at this time."

Only with snow can we have a silvery scenery

Only then can we have the artistic conception of thousands of mountains and jades

Heavy snow every year - Winter Solstice

The Seventeen-Arch Bridge in Beijing's Summer Palace will have a "golden light shining through the hole" scene

The sunset illuminates the side wall of the bridge tunnel

From a distance, it looks like a bright light is lit in the bridge tunnel.

Heavy Snow·Three Signs

The ancients divided heavy snow into three phases

"In the first sign, the owls stop singing; in the second sign, the tigers begin to mate; in the third sign, the lychees begin to grow."

In the first season, the cuckoo no longer sings: meaning that when the weather gets cold, the cuckoo that usually loves to sing no longer sings.

The second phase is the beginning of mating between tigers: "In the middle of winter, tigers begin to mate." At this time, tigers begin to court mates. According to the ancients, tigers are yin creatures, "they are said to be able to avoid evil spirits, and now they feel the slight yang energy, which is even more beneficial, so they mate with each other."

The third sign is that li ting sprouts: "Li ting" is a kind of orchid, and it also sprouts new buds when it feels the budding of Yang Qi. There are many theories about what kind of orchid it is. Among them, "Shuowen" records: "It is similar to cattail but smaller, and its roots can be used as brushes, which is the same as "Li" in "Bencao". In other words, the leaves of li ting are as small as cattail, and the roots of li ting are harder, so they can be used to make brushes. Some people also believe that li is a kind of vanilla or tonka bean.

Heavy snow and food

"If you make good use of the snow, you won't get cold all year round"

Heavy snow, freezing weather

Nourish your body properly with delicious food

The next spring will bring you a healthy spirit

Heavy snow is a good time to "take supplements".

There is a saying that goes "Nourish yourself in winter and fight the tiger in spring".

Winter tonic can improve the body's immune function

Promote metabolism and improve chills.

Eat mutton: There is a saying in Baotou area of ​​Inner Mongolia that goes "Kill pigs in Minor Snow and slaughter sheep in Heavy Snow". Mutton can dispel cold, nourish the body, replenish qi and deficiency, promote blood circulation, and enhance the ability to resist cold.

Drink red porridge: There is a saying among the people in northern Shandong that "when the roller is hitting the door, people will just drink red sticky porridge", which means that when it is cold, people will no longer visit other people's homes, but just stay at home and drink warm sweet potato porridge.

Edible fungi: Edible fungi such as shiitake mushrooms contain a lot of protein, vitamins and minerals. Winter is the peak season for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Eating more fungi is helpful for physical health.

Heavy snow and tea making

"A bottle of snow water is used to brew tea, and its refreshing energy can really overwhelm a warrior."

In addition to enjoying the snow

Cooking snow and making tea is also

A great and elegant thing loved by literati of all ages

The Tang Dynasty poet Lu Guimeng

Written in "Ten Poems on Teaware in Response to Xi Mei: Brewing Tea"

"When I have free time, I sit among the pines and watch the snow boil on the pines"

The Southern Song poet Lu You

The tea mentioned in "Snow After Tea"

"The snow liquid is clear and sweet, and the well spring is rising. Bring your own tea stove to cook."

From the gentle touch

Feel the leisure and elegance of winter

If it is night, accompanied by

"Green ants brew new wine, red clay stove"

Chatting around the fire, asking friends around you

"It's going to snow in the evening, can I have a drink?"

Heavy snow·customs

Enjoy the snow scenery

During the heavy snow season, people enjoyed the snow scenery in the ice and snow. Volume 3 of Zhou Mi's "Wulin Jiushi" in the Southern Song Dynasty said: "People in the Forbidden City often went to Mingyuan Tower to enjoy the snow. Snow lions of different sizes were brought into the back garden, decorated with golden bells and colorful threads, and made into snowflakes, snow lanterns, snow mountains, and dripping butter flowers and other things, and were brought in golden basins for people to enjoy." This vivid text describes the situation of the royal family and nobles in Hangzhou making snowmen and snow mountains in heavy snow. When the sky cleared after the snow, the earth and mountains looked like jade buildings, and it was very interesting to look far into the distance.

Watch the river closure

In the north, there is the natural landscape of "thousands of miles of ice and snow", and in the south, there is the charming picture of "flying snowflakes and a silver sky". During the big snow season, the ice in the river is frozen, and people can skate and play to their heart's content, and of course, enjoy the scenery of the frozen river on the shore.

Emperor Qianlong and Empress Dowager Cixi of the Qing Dynasty often watched ice play in Yilan Hall of Beihai Lake in winter. Emperor Qianlong also wrote works related to ice play, such as "Imperial Collection of Poems on Ice Play at Taiye Lake" and "Imperial Ode to Ice Play".

Night Work

During the Daxue solar term, the days are short and the nights are long. In ancient times, workshops and families started working at night, commonly known as "night work". The textile, embroidery and dyeing industries had to eat late at night, so there were "night cooking" and "midnight snacks". In order to meet this demand, various snack stalls also opened night markets, which lasted until the fifth watch, and the business was very prosperous.

Cured Meat

There is a saying in old Nanjing, "pickle vegetables in Minor Snow, pickle meat in Major Snow". When the Major Snow solar term arrives, every household is busy pickling "salty goods". Add star anise, cinnamon, pepper, sugar and other ingredients to a pan and fry until cooked. After the fried pepper salt cools down, apply it to the inside and outside of fish, meat and poultry, rub repeatedly until the meat color turns from fresh to dark and liquid oozes out of the surface. Then put the meat and the remaining salt into a jar, press it with a stone, and place it in a cool and dark place. Take it out after half a month, put the marinade into a pot, add water and boil it, skim off the foam, put in the dried poultry and livestock meat, stack them layer by layer in the jar, pour in the brine, and press it with a big stone. Take it out after ten days, hang it under the eaves facing the sun to dry, and welcome the New Year.

Rime hangs on branches, snowflakes drift across the sky

Cold weather

The Big Snow Season has arrived

There is endless worry in my heart

There is a stove at home to make hot soup

Smiling and laughing

The years are warm

Winter is over.

At this moment we warm each other

Let's wait for spring to come together

It snows heavily today, I wish you good health

Comprehensive sources: Xinhua News Agency, CCTV News, People's Daily, China National Geographic, Our Space, etc.